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What are poor negotiations costing you?

A poorly handled negotiation can result in:

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Costly delays
Unnecessary discounts
Margin erosion
Scope creep
Free additional work
Unrealistic commitments
Damaged relationships

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A single unnecessary concession or mis-communication can cost considerably more than the training that would have prevented it.

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Technical people negotiate every day.

Many engineers, project managers, production leaders and technical specialists don't think of themselves as negotiators.

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But negotiation is often part of their job.

• A customer wants something included for free.
• Procurement demands another discount.
• A project has moved beyond the original scope.
• A customer expects compensation.
• A supplier cannot meet the agreed date.
• Two departments need the same limited resource.
• Production have competing demands.

The decisions made in these moments can affect margin, customer satisfaction, workload, risk and reputation.

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WHAT COULD BETTER NEGOTIATION MEAN FOR YOUR BUSINESS?

Fewer unnecessary discounts
Protect margin.

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Less scope creep
Reduce additional work being given away.

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Better commercial decisions
Know when to inform, consult, explore or negotiate.

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Stronger customer relationships
Protect the relationship without surrendering value.

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More confident technical people
Give people a structure for difficult conversations.

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Teams working together

Remove the barriers the performing as one team

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Clearer agreements
Reduce misunderstandings, disputes and ambiguity.

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Pressure changes how people think.

Under pressure, people can develop tunnel vision, make mistakes, misunderstand others and miss opportunities.

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people can:

• Rush
• Defend
• Assume
• React emotionally
• Stop listening
• Focus on one solution
• Concede too quickly
• Use discounting to make the problem go away
• Over-promise

PSL helps people recognise what is happening - in themselves and in others and respond more intelligently.

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SLOW DOWN → THINK → ASK → LISTEN → CREATE OPTIONS → DECIDE

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Stay mature. Stay curious. Stay useful.

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BETTER QUESTIONS. BETTER OUTCOMES.

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QLS – Question. Listen. Silence.

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Good negotiators don't simply talk more. They understand more.

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Don't rush to answer. Understand first.

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STOP GIVING VALUE AWAY Before reducing price, ask: What else can we change?

• Scope
• Timing
• Specification
• Quantity
• Payment terms
• Delivery
• Support
• Responsibilities
• Risk
• Phasing
• Service levels
• Contract length

NEVER CONCEDE. EXCHANGE.

A good negotiation is an exchange of value — not a sequence of concessions.

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PREPARATION CHANGES THE NEGOTIATION

Effective preparation means knowing your objectives, boundaries, alternatives, decision makers and possible options before the negotiation begins.

• What do we want?
• What do they want?
• What matters most?
• What are our boundaries?
• Where can we move?
• Where can't we move?
• What could we trade?
• What alternatives do we have?
• Who can make the decision?
• What happens if we don't agree?

Examples of negotiations we cover:

• Customer price pressure
• Procurement negotiations
• Production challenges
• Project changes
• Scope creep
• Service contracts
• Compensation requests
• Supplier problems
• Delivery delays
• Internal resources
• Contract renewals

Participants can bring real situations into the programme.

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Participants learn how to:

• Prepare - establish objectives, boundaries and alternatives.
• Understand - ask better questions and uncover what really matters.
• Think under pressure - manage emotion and avoid impulsive decisions.
• Create options - move beyond price and either/or thinking.
• Exchange value - make concessions conditionally rather than simply giving value away.
• Reach clear agreements - establish ownership, actions and next steps.

One concession may seem insignificant. Repeated across a team, customers and projects, it can become a significant commercial cost.

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This isn't about teaching people negotiating tricks.

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It's about developing better thinking, better communication and better decisions when something important is at stake.

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WHAT NEGOTIATIONS ARE YOUR PEOPLE FACING?

Price pressure?
Scope changes?
Procurement demands?
Difficult customers?
Compensation requests?
Internal disagreements?

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Tell us what's happening.

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We'll help you identify where better preparation, communication and negotiation skills could improve the outcome.

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TALK TO PSL

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No hard sell. Just a useful conversation.

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WHY PSL?

25+ years' experience
Practical experience developing people and performance.

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Engineering & technical specialists
We understand technical environments, customers and commercial pressures.

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Real situations
Training built around negotiations your people actually face.

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Global delivery
Face-to-face or virtual.

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Practical tools
Simple approaches people can remember and use under pressure.

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